Commentary: Pride month salutes resilience of LGBT seniors
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Three ways your monthly Social Security payment can grow over time
www.homage.org
VOL. 45 NO. 5 | JUNE 2018
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How you can help Homage serve Snohomish County seniors
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Travels With Kathy: Edmonds is one of nation’s undiscovered art meccas
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At age 106, Spokanearea man stays in perpetual motion
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You’ll find a rainbow of nutritious fruits and vegetables at a farmers market near you
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At Lifelong, not only is client Bill Darby, 69 (left), able to get needed information from volunteer Larry Law, 75, but his dog Butch gets Law to do a dachshund-mix’s favorite thing: a massage under the collar. (Dan Bates / The Herald)
Lifelong advocates Community health organization has been helping people with HIV since the 1980s By Joseph Thompson Herald Writer
Meet the Homage volunteer who’s the unsung hero of Medicare asssistance Page 10
Homage Senior Services 5026 196th St. SW Lynnwood, WA 98036
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Learn about programs and services available to seniors by visiting www.homage.org.
EVERETT — For those in Washington diagnosed with HIV in the 1980s, Lifelong has been a faithful advocate the whole time. Lifelong is a community health organization founded more than 30 years ago with offices across Western Washington. Its programs assist with housing, insurance, well-being and nutrition for people living with or at risk of HIV and other chronic health problems. Senior citizens living with HIV face unique challenges. The disease can
increase risk of another illness, accelerate symptoms of aging and serve as a reminder for those lost during the AIDS crisis. “Because your immune system is compromised, you’re more susceptible to infections people normally wouldn’t get,” said James Ludwig, program manager at Lifelong’s Everett office. “It’s kind of a holistic approach we take between housing, mental health, food and everything else. We’re looking at the bigger picture.” In Snohomish County, Lifelong serves 330 clients living with HIV, and 111 of them are 55 or older.
Over the next five to 10 years, more than half of people in the country living with HIV will be 55 or older, Ludwig said. Bill Darby, 69, was introduced to Lifelong in 1983, via a medical study at the University of Washington. Larry Law, 75, joined around 1988 through a similar study. Now he volunteers weekly at the Everett office’s front desk. HIV detection and treatment have come a long way since the 1980s, they said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
Meet the oldest man in America At 112, this Austin, Texas, resident has the secret to a long life: ‘Just keep living. Don’t die.’ By Brendan Meyer The Dallas Morning News AUSTIN, Texas — The oldest living man in America wakes on his couch at 4:25 a.m. and wonders if it’s still raining. On May 11, he turned 112, “And I have no pains, no aches.” The blinds of his home are drawn shut. The trickles from an overnight storm fall onto the trees. “Turn on the lights,” he says to his caregiver, who has sat by his side all night, waiting for Richard Overton to open his eyes. He’s helped onto a scale, which says his frail figure is a perfect 125 pounds. His blood pressure is a solid 110 over 80. His body temperature is 97.4 degrees. On this morning, the supercentenarian sits in his favorite recliner. He reaches for his cigar box and unwraps two Tampa Sweet Perfectos with his long fingernails — one for now, one to tuck in his shirt pocket for later. The neighbors are still asleep. The sun has yet to rise.
The birds aren’t singing. And the rain, that darn rain, is still drizzling. He hopes today won’t be like yesterday, when a constant storm prevented him from doing the thing he loves most. If the weather is nice, Overton sits on his front porch. His friends call it his “stage.” He’ll hum with the birds, snoop on his neighbors and wave at honking cars. Best of all, it’s where he smokes most of his 12 daily cigars. For now, the dark sky is still a mystery. So Overton reclines in his seat, passing the time with three cigars until the first glimmer of blue sky sneaks between the blinds. “There she is,” he says with a smile, smoking one more Tampa Sweet before putting in his teeth.
Oldest veteran, too Life has slowed year by year for the lifelong Austin resident. He was born in 1906, the same year as the first wireless CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
Richard Overton smokes a cigar at his home in Austin, Texas. He rises some time between 3 and 5 a.m. and smokes about a dozen cigars a day. (Ashley Landis / Dallas Morning News)